A master of metaphysics is farming.

Chapter 186 Zeng Yunqing's Little Secret

Early the next morning, a large number of people gathered in the city.

Brother Qiu pushed his wife in his cart, while Sister Qiu held the baby and played with him. Everyone was overjoyed to see the little guy.

After resting for two days, Zhu Nan felt better, but her wounds still needed dressing changes, and her leg injury meant she could only walk normally and couldn't do heavy work.

"It's really... quite a burden for you to bring along a subordinate like me, young lady..."

Xiang He slapped him on the shoulder, which pulled at the wound on his back, making him wince. "Girl, take it easy..."

“It’s better for you to follow me than Sui’an. If I come across any herbs on the way, you’ll recover faster.”

"Thank you, young lady..."

At this moment, Zeng Yunqing rushed over, dressed very neatly, and she was leading a horse. "Are we about to set off?"

Xiang He glanced around and noticed that everyone was getting impatient. "Let's go!"

Zhu Nan led two large horses at the back of the procession as they left the city. The enemy soldiers' corpses had all been buried, and the blood on the ground was covered with mud and dust, making it impossible to tell that a battle had taken place.

The people on the road were laughing and chatting, showing no trace of the sadness of the past few days.

Everyone was naturally happy to have finally driven the enemy away.

Xiang He was happy to chat and laugh with everyone. She had been feeling down for a while, and now that she knew her family was safe and that a major problem had been solved, she was in a good mood.

"Miss Xiang is kind-hearted. If it weren't for my family's financial difficulties, I would really like to invite you to have a good meal together."

Sister Qiu smiled happily while holding her child. Xiang He reached out and gently touched the baby in her arms. "I will also be heading back. I'll be bothering you then."

“That’s great! You all have to come, even if it’s just a mirage.”

The mirror flower and water moon did not return to the mirror; now, the two of them are simply ordinary people returning to the city, accompanying each other on the journey, and can be of great help.

Zeng Yunqing looked at the wilted grass on both sides of the road and felt worried. "Miss, even the grass is like this..."

The elderly women standing nearby were all surprised, "Yes, what happened to the grass? What about the crops?"

Xiang He paused for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's probably just a bit desolate. Let's get going and see what's going on. No rush."

The group walked a long way, and Xiang He kept an eye on the grass and trees on both sides. Some of them had already sprouted new buds. Fortunately, the mountain god protected them, and it must have taken a lot of effort.

While I was preoccupied with other things, a couple suddenly stopped at the crossroads. "Young lady, our home is right here. Please take care on your journey."

"You've arrived so quickly. Remember to plant the seeds you received, elder brother and sister-in-law, as soon as possible."

"okay!"

They received the seeds at the city gate. Although there weren't many, they naturally wouldn't refuse them since they heard they were distributed by General Zhou.

Xiang He watched their departing figures, then had Zhu Nan lead everyone forward first. Only after making sure they weren't looking back did she squat down and place her palms on the ground.

"Heaven and earth are dark and yellow, all things grow... all living things benefit, so be it!"

As the incantation was completed, a power surged beneath the earth. Xiang He felt a touch in her palm; it was her incantation resonating with the mountain god.

Under the bamboo baskets at the city gate where seeds were placed, there were growth talismans pasted on the plants, which were believed to help the seeds to thrive and integrate with the soil more quickly after being planted, thus promoting better growth and enabling the land to flourish rapidly.

They bought seeds from a shop that had all kinds of seeds. Although not every household could have them, at least it guaranteed that the first people to get them would plant them and make their land grow.

Xiang He was responsible for walking to Houde Pass and leaving talismans at various locations to resonate with the prayers of the mountain god.

They walked on until dark, stopping and starting along the way, and helped many people get home. Xiang He and his group had already passed the Xiangjia Village intersection and were heading towards Jiayang Pass.

As dusk fell, and with no civilians around them, Xiang He looked up at the night sky.

"Let's find a place to rest for a while, and go into the mountains to take a look. The horses need to graze, and I'll also see if there are any medicinal herbs."

Zeng Yunqing, carrying her bundle, looked around, wondering, "Are there any big cats in the mountains?"

"Don't worry, even big cats wouldn't dare hurt us," Xiang He turned and walked towards the side path. "With me here, nothing will dare to hurt you."

"Too."

The three people, two demons, and three horses walked into the mountains. There were many withered yellow leaves in the mountains, but there were new buds on the ground and new leaves on the trees, which was the beginning of spring.

"Spring has been here for a long time, but I never expected it to suddenly disappear and then spring back..."

Jinghua smiled and turned her head, "When did you become so sentimental, young lady?"

"..." Xiang He poked her forehead, "Let's go see if there's any water nearby, and find a place to stay near water."

"I understand~"

Mirror Flower Water Moon went together to find a water source, with Xiang He leading the way behind them, occasionally looking for slippery cliffs, as slippery places often hold many good things.

"Girl! We've found a water source, but there's very little water!"

"As long as there's water, it'll be fine."

The group sat down by the stream, where the water was pitifully scarce. Xiang He told them to be careful, while he went to find some herbs.

As they turned into a ravine, a white figure suddenly jumped out. Xiang He took a step back and saw that the little fox had appeared there.

Its snow-white body was a little dirty, its once fluffy tail was now drooping, and it didn't seem to be in a good mood.

Xiang He opened her arms wide. "What brings you here?"

Its eyes flashed, and it leaped into Xiang He's arms, with some grass still dangling from its mouth. It moved its head, as if to give it to Xiang He.

"Oh, the mountain god sent you to deliver herbs?"

The little fox nodded. Seeing its listless expression, Xiang He patted its head. "Don't worry, those evil spirits have been driven away. It will get better gradually. Trust the Mountain God."

The little fox nodded vigorously. Although it couldn't speak, it could understand what Xiang He was saying and trusted its mountain god even more.

"You should go back first. Please thank the mountain god for me."

The little fox reluctantly jumped to the ground, looking back every few steps as it disappeared into the jungle.

Xiang He took the herbs and turned back to the stream. Zhu Nan had already started a fire and was leading the horse to find some grass. Zeng Yunqing was adding dry branches and sat still.

Mirror Flower Water Moon prepared some water for Xiang He, "Miss, you found the herbs so quickly?"

"Hmm," Xiang He took out a small mortar and pestle from his cloth bag, put the herbs in and put them in. "Let's rest for a while and then continue on our way. Hopefully we can catch up with the army as soon as possible."

Jinghua teased, "Is the young lady concerned about the master?"

"What are you thinking about?" Xiang He gently rubbed the herbs. "When a war breaks out, there will definitely be casualties. If we get there as soon as possible, we can take care of the wounded."

“Yes, yes, yes,” Jinghua said, taking a small bite of the flatbread. “Girl, look.”

Xiang He looked up with a slight puzzlement. When she saw Jing Hua staring at Zeng Yunqing, she turned her head slightly and realized that Zeng Yunqing was looking at a letter. His face was flushed by the firelight, and the smile on his lips looked somewhat ambiguous.

"What are you looking at that makes you so happy?"

Zeng Yunqing was startled and quickly gripped the paper in her hand, but Xiang He saw a name on the book cover in the firelight.

"You and Rongxing..."

Her face flushed even more, and Xiang He suddenly realized, "You and Rongxing are... cough! You've been corresponding?"

"Um……"

Zeng Yunqing's face was flushed; she looked every bit the part of a young girl in the throes of first love...

Goodness, without her even knowing, these two had become so ambiguous...